Livvie is thinking about Amina and her contribution to humanity and dogs

Hi. Livvie here. Since I am a champion for fairness to all four-leggeds and two-leggeds, I am also a dog who follows anti-racist movements. Our family had a dear friend who died in September, 2011. Her name was Amina Rahman, and she had a long history of working in the Civil Rights Movement . She began her political work as a child of about 13 or 14 in the Harlem neighborhood that she lived in. She was known then as Sherron Jackson. It was then that she met Malcolm X, and eventually became a close associate. She was so brilliant and self-possessed that, in a few years she was introducing Malcolm when he spoke. In fact, I’m told that you can see her in the film called Malcolm X – Make It Plain, made in 1994 and seen by many on American Experience.  By the way, by then she was known as Sherron 10X or Sharon 10X. In the sixties, she did work with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and could tell many a story that would stop you in your tracks.

Today, we pay tribute to her in our household. She was very kind to me and to Matilda. In fact, she came to meet me the very day mom brought me home. I had been in the car for many hours, and was pretty confused to be in a city and on a leash. Amina was the  first person to welcome me to Brooklyn. I always loved her so much , and so did Matilda. We would crowd around her when she came over, and lick her face a lot. Sometimes we would visit her at her place, and hang out with Tucker, her beagle.

So, we feel especially sad today that Amina is not here with us. She was mom’s friend for over 26 years.

We recommend that you watch the Malcolm X film, and  also there is a terrific book called Hands On the Freedom Plow, and it is a collection of personal accounts by women in SNCC. (It is edited by six women, but you can just google the title and find it). Not many people realized that women played major roles as organizers in the Civil Rights Movement. Amina’s friend, Faith Holsaert participated in the production of the book.